[HIGH TO LOW] Thai dishes in Seoul to fit any budget

Seoul offers diverse Thai dining experiences. Yeong Dong Pochana brings exotic dishes in a comfortable yet mature setting, while Seobo serves popular Thai-style pig's trotters and shrimp rice soup to its customers.

Khao kha mu, or slow-braised pork trotter on rice, at Seobo in Songpa District, southern Seoul [LEE JIAN]

Seoul is a city that offers everything from affordable top-tier street food to world-class premium dining. In this series, the Korea JoongAng Daily interviews chefs and cooks across the city to introduce two restaurants offering the same dish at vastly different price points.

Yeong Dong Pochana

Glass noodle pot with shrimp, left, and fried fish with sour apple salad at Yeong Dong Pochana in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [LEE JIAN]

Thai restaurants in Seoul are bound to an unspoken rule of thumb: At the very least, they must have pad Thai, pho or tom yum goong on the menu.

Yeong Dong Pochana in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, is one of a handful of restaurants in town that successfully breaks this stereotype, winning over its customers instead with more exotic Thai dishes that its owners have studied for over a decade.

The restaurant is run by the famous power couple Im Dong-hyuk and Kim Eun-ji, both 42, who jointly own over a dozen different Thai restaurants in Korea, including the Michelin Guide-listed Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai in Yeonnam-dong of Mapo District, western Seoul.

“We have now been in this business for 14 years and feel that we, as well as the customers, have grown and matured,” Kim said. “At Yeong Dong Pochana, we wanted to do something different to reflect our growth, and decided to open a restaurant that doesn’t sell the typical pho, pad Thai and tom yum goong, because Thai food is so much more than these dishes.”

In a dimly lit, spacious sitting area with a clean and modern interior, the restaurant doesn’t automatically scream Thai food, and intentionally so as Kim explained they wanted to make a space that is considered hip and popular in Thailand right now. The items on the menu change often, depending on the season, but some of its most iconic dishes include crispy pork with somtam (28,000 won or $21), Thai oyster omelet (19,000 won) and fried fish with sour apple salad (42,000 won).

Crispy pork with somtam at Yeong Dong Pochana in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [YEONG DONG POCHANA]

The couple has put some twists on the authentic dishes, applying decades-long expertise in the industry. For instance, Yeong Dong Pochana uses a smoldering earthenware plate to serve the Thai oyster omelet, which is normally served on a cold metal plate in Thailand, similar to the plating of Korea’s jeon (fritters). The sizzling sound and plumes of smoke rising from the platter as the server walks across the hall make it an “eye-catching dish,” according to Kim.

The restaurant also has an eclectic list of drinks, including various wines, beers, cocktails, whiskey and vodka.

“We both love to pair alcohol with food, so it has always been a dream for us to open a place like this,” Kim said. “Our other brands are more family-oriented, while this one is more for adults to enjoy.”

Yeong Dong Pochana in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [YEONG DONG POCHANA]

Im opened his first restaurant in 2011, which was a small hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant now called Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai, back then located inside Dongjin Market in central Seoul.

“My first trip abroad was to Thailand, simply by chance, and I just fell in love with the food and culture there,” he said.

From there, he and Kim set up their second brand Soi Yeonnam, which is another casual Thai noodle joint. Yeong Dong Pochana is their third and latest brand launch, opening last summer.

“The success that we’ve had so far enabled us to open Yeong Dong Pochana, where we feel like we are living our dreams,” Kim said. “It was certainly a new endeavor for us, but overcoming these hurdles is what motivates us to work harder every day. These days, we are very happy because we feel we have achieved this at Yeong Dong Pochana.”

Seobo

Kao tom goong, or Thai rice soup with shrimp, at Seobo in Songpa District, southern Seoul [SEOBO]

Seobo in Songpa District, southern Seoul, isn’t your typical restaurant. To begin with, it has no proper sign. Instead, an old, blue and white metal board reads “Seobo Electricity Co.”

“It's the same sign that hung outside the building when I moved in here,” said owner-chef Lee Chang-jo, 30. “This place used to be a lightbulb-slash-electricity shop that stayed in business for over 25 years. I was inspired by that and would like to work that long too, so just decided to keep the sign and open a restaurant with the same name.”

Seobo in Songpa District, southern Seoul [SEOBO]

Lee himself is no typical restaurant owner either: He is a cook at the Embassy of Ireland, and running Seobo is his “side job.” Seobo is closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays because of Lee's work at the embassy.

“At first, I just wanted to do something fun and simple […] cook what I wanted to cook,” he said. “I didn’t expect this kind of love from customers.”

Seobo is one of the hottest restaurants in town these days, with queues almost a given on any day that the restaurant is open.

It has just two items: khao kha mu (13,000 won), which is Thai-style pig's trotters cooked with soy sauce and spices over rice, and kao tom goong (10,000 won) which is Thai rice soup with shrimp.

“But even just serving these two dishes is a lot of work!”

Lee is being modest, however. He greets his unending stream of customers with a polite smile, serves the food timely and checks in with customers as they finish their meals.

“Though I am busy, I am happy because I am doing what I love,” Lee said.

Seobo in Songpa District, southern Seoul [SEOBO]

Lee studied French cuisine in school, and before working at the Embassy of Ireland, he worked at Signiel Seoul and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Washington, D.C.

His interest in Thai food began in Itaewon, a multicultural neighborhood in central Seoul with a slew of authentic foreign restaurants.

“After I fell in love with the Thai food there, like curry, pad Thai and tom yum goong, I wanted to try more, and I think now, I’ve visited Thailand some 10 times,” he said. “I became very passionate about its cuisine because it is a mélange of rich cultures and tastes very direct with a rich aroma. I found some of its dishes to be the ultimate gourmet delicacies.”

He especially fell in love with slow-braised pork trotter on rice, or khao kha mu, and even studied the dish at a bona fide khao kha mu eatery in Thailand, according to Lee.

“I thought it was the perfect dish to bring here because it wasn’t such a common dish in Korea, like pad Thai or tom yum goong.”

It is Lee’s dream to introduce more foreign dishes around the world to Koreans.

“There are so many delicious foods in the world that Koreans have yet to discover,” he said. “Beef and Guinness, shepherd pie, masala curry […] the list goes on, and it is my goal to open the eyes of more people here to the diversity of international cuisine.”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]